Chicory's 15 Minutes

This nutty, earthy root is the flavor of the moment, and not just in coffee

Oct. 26, 2012 2:56 p.m. ET

FOR THOSE WHO LOVE coffee but find its caffeine jolt hard to handle, there is little consolation: Decaffeinated beans usually lack not only pep, but flavor, too. It was with these suffering sippers in mind that Rob Newton, chef and co-owner of Seersucker, Smith Canteen and the soon-to-open Nightingale 9, all in Brooklyn, N.Y., came up with his chicory latte, made with only two ingredients: chicory root and steamed milk.

People have long flocked to New Orleans's Café Du Monde (est. 1862) for café au lait made with a...